State where party drugs sell for the price of a coffee

IT MAY be known as the City of Churches, but Adelaide has now gained the dubious honour of becoming Australia's bargain bin for hard drugs.

Pills of the illicit party stimulant MDMA are now being flogged to South Australia dealers for the same price as a large coffee - making the state cheapest among the cheapest in the nation when it comes to ecstasy bulk pricing.

Just yesterday, SA Police busted what they described as "one of the largest" meth labs ever discovered at Morphett Vale in the state's southern suburbs and seized 120kg of powder and 11kg believed to be crystal meth.

However, dealers are making significant mark-ups, meaning one tablet of MDMA is costing customers in the state $20 per pill on average.

This means South Australia is comparatively expensive for MDMA consumers compared to other Aussie states.

MDMA caps are being sold for as little as $4 a cap in parts of Western Australia.

According to the report, a single ecstasy cap can be bought for as cheap as $4 in Western Australia, however these prices can fluctuate wildly and cost customers up to $50 per cap in other parts of the state.

One cap in New South Wales can cost as low as $15, whereas a tablet can be as cheap as $20 a pop in Victoria, Queensland and ACT.

Tasmania ($40-50 a cap) and the Northern Territory ($30-50 a cap) are the most expensive place to buy the so-called party drug.

When it comes to ice, again prices fluctuate wildly from state to state. In Western Australia one "hit" of the life-destroying substance can cost customers as little as $17, whereas in the Northern Territory, the same hit can cost up to $150.

In terms of Australia's most popular illicit drug, cannabis, an ounce of high-powered hydroponic bud is cheapest in Queensland, where it can be sold for as little as $200. The same ounce in NSW will cost between $250-320 or $300 in Victoria, $220 in SA or $300 in Tasmania.

With weed, the Northern Territory is again the most expensive place in Australia - where an ounce can cost up to $450.

The figures come as the ACIC has revealed damning new figures which it says shows Australia has become a "stimulant nation".

The results of its fifth National Wastewater Drug Monitoring Program show Australia ranks second highest after the USA, out of 23 countries studied for total estimated stimulant consumption - specifically MDMA, cocaine, amphetamine and methylamphetamine.

Using our collective toilet water between August 2016 to August 2017, the researchers estimated that more than 8.3 tonnes of methylamphetamine is consumed in Australia each year, as well as more than 3 tonnes of cocaine, 1.2 tonnes of MDMA and more than 700 kilograms of heroin.

Last year, the report led to claims Adelaide was the nation's "ice capital" - however, this year's results show methamphetamine use in South Australia has fallen dramatically.

The new report shows the Northern Territory had the highest average capital city consumption of methylamphetamine nationally in April 2018.

"The sudden drop-off in use of methylamphetamine use in South Australia was striking," the report stated.

New research shows ice use in South Australia is dropping. Picture: iStock

"Both in Western Australia and South Australia, consumption declined dramatically after December 2017. These were the states where use was historically the highest in the nation.

"The recent declines in methylamphetamine use in South Australia and Western Australia are clear reversals in longer-term trends."

DRUGS USE ACROSS AUSTRALIA

ACT: highest use of fentanyl in a capital city, increased use of methylamphetamine, cocaine, MDA, oxycodone, fentanyl and heroin.

NSW: highest levels of cocaine use in a capital city and regionally, highest regional use of MDMA, MDA and fentanyl, increased methylamphetamine consumption across the state.

NT: highest levels of nicotine and alcohol, most methylamphetamine and MDMA use in a capital city.

QLD: Fentanyl use on the rise, second highest regional consumption of cocaine.

TAS: highest consumption of MDA, oxycodone and fentanyl in a capital city.